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Jay Printz

Board Member

Jay Printz

Board Member

Biography

Peter “Jay” Printz served as a sheriff in Montana until 1999 and was the lead plaintiff in the 1997 lawsuit, Printz v. United States. The NRA-backed litigation attempted to void the “Brady Law,” which mandated background checks on gun purchases. The purpose of the law was to prevent prohibited purchasers—including convicted felons, domestic abusers, and fugitives from justice—from acquiring firearms. The NRA stoked paranoid fears about the “Brady Law,” falsely claiming it would lead to door-to-door gun confiscation. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s majority opinion in Printz said that the federal government could not compel local law enforcement officials to conduct background checks, but left the Brady Law largely intact. Printz has served on the NRA Board of Directors since 1998.

On June 29, 2009 Printz posted a photo on Facebook that depicts George W. Bush and Dick Cheney using the waterboarding torture technique on then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Below the image, Printz commented, “I had a dream last night!!”

On November 8, 2008, Printz posted an image of a tombstone on his American Daughter Media Centerblog. The inscription on the tombstone indicates that America died on November 4, 2008—the day that Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. The cause of death was listed as “suicide.”

On June 29, 2009 Printz posted a photo on Facebook that depicts George W. Bush and Dick Cheney using the waterboarding torture technique on then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Below the image, Printz commented, “I had a dream last night!!”

On November 8, 2008, Printz posted an image of a tombstone on his American Daughter Media Centerblog. The inscription on the tombstone indicates that America died on November 4, 2008—the day that Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. The cause of death was listed as “suicide.”